The driver of a Wal-Mart truck that crashed into a van carrying comedian Tracy Morgan and others early Saturday on the New Jersey Turnpike has plead not guilty to charges that he killed one passenger and injured four others.

According to The Star-Ledger, 35 year-old Kevin Roper took part in a five-minute hearing on Wednesday in front of Judge Bradley Ferencz in New Brunswick in which he entered his plea through his attorney to four counts of assault by auto and one county of vehicular homicide.

Initially, authorities accused Roper of having not slept for the previous 24 hours; however, this has yet to be substantiated according to New Jersey State Police, who have stated they have no evidence in support of such a claim.

During the hearing, Ferencz acknowledged Roper's previously clean driving record. Roper is currently free on $50,000 bond, and neither he nor his attorney spoke to reporters after the hearing. 

According to authorities, after failing to see slower-moving traffic ahead, Roper's tractor-trailer rig plowed into the rear of the van containing Morgan's entourage, which precipitated a chain of collisions that included four other vehicles.

The crash left Morgan with a broken leg, a broken nose as well as broken ribs. Close friend and fellow comedian James McNair, 62, was killed in the collision that also left Ardie Fuqua, 43, and Jeffrey Millea, 26, in critical condition.

The crash is being investigated by the New Jersey State Police, the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In a move that has caught some people off guard, Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson rushed to defend the accused, saying that if indeed Roper did fall asleep at the wheel he should not face any jail time.

"10 Years in jail for falling asleep?" Carlson said. "It strikes me as very different from taking drugs, drinking." However, Fox's legal correspondent, David Schwartz, explained that this is not without precedent.

"If he did fall asleep at the wheel, that's one of the ways that you could commit reckless driving in New Jersey," Schwartz said. "And certainly the fact that a death occurred, 5 to 10 years in jail [is not out of the ordinary]."

Tracy Morgan is most well known for his stint on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" as well as portraying comedian Tracy Jordan on the acclaimed "30 Rock," also on NBC.